Mechanical Failure
by RedLion2
Summary: After Blue Lion suffers an accident, Keith and Allura confide in one another. Response to the KAEX challenge, "Broken." K/A of course.


I don't own Voltron, or its associated characters.

This is for the KAEX challenge I started. The theme is "broken." The story must be a one-shot, and revolve around the theme. It must also be K/A-centric. Thank you to Paulina Ann for being the first one to accept the challenge :-)

MECHANICAL FAILURE

Allura sat quietly in Blue Lion's cockpit, absently running her hands over the controls. The big mecha was currently parked in the huge repair hangar that had been built a few years before. She'd been brought there earlier in the day, after she'd suddenly stopped in mid-air during morning practice, shuddered, and fallen back into the lake without warning. A shiver wended through Allura's body as she thought about the fall. It had been terrifying. She had tried to get Blue to respond, but the lion had continued to fall, refusing to fly. The boys had heard her cries for help over the radio and had tried valiantly to catch her, but they hadn't been fast enough.

Sighing, and knowing that it did no good sitting here, she got up and left the cockpit. The hangar was silent; Hunk and Pidge had finished running diagnostics on Blue a half-hour before and had left to get lunch before they sat down to go over the data. Lance and Keith had left before then, having to be on-duty in Castle Control. She knew they all felt bad about what had happened. Lance had told her repeatedly it wasn't her fault, that sometimes machines just quit working. And while she'd been grateful for his kind words, she hadn't believed them. The lions were not only mechanical, they were magical. Maybe the magic was slowly slipping from Blue. The thought was sobering and depressing. She couldn't bear the thought of her beloved steed being permanently broken.

She sat on one of Blue's massive paws and put her head in her hands. At times like this, she wished mightily that her father was here. King Alfor would've probably have known what was ailing the mecha without having to run tests. A deep sigh escaped her lips and she wondered how long Blue would be down.

"Hey."

She jerked, raising her head. Keith stood a few feet away, his dark brown eyes somber. "Hey," she said quietly.

He walked over and climbed up onto the paw to sit beside her. "I just talked to Hunk and Pidge. They said it was a mechanical failure that caused her to fall," he told her.

"Mechanical failure? Are they sure? What failed?" Curiosity crept into her voice, easing some of the melancholy that had been there.

Keith leaned back on his hands. "Hunk's pretty sure. He said it looks like her flight thrusters gave out, and when that happened, there was absolutely no lift."

"And she fell." Allura's breath caught a little in her throat and she turned her head away from him, not wanting him to see how much the fall had shaken her. By this point in time, she figured that falling shouldn't do that to her, that she'd been in enough combat that not much should faze her.

"She did," Keith agreed. He was quiet for a few moments, then added, "It wasn't your fault, Allura. It's just something that happened."

"I know." And she did know. If a mechanical system had failed, there was absolutely nothing she could've done about it. But yet she still felt like she'd failed. Failed not only Blue, but herself and the rest of the team. She tried so hard to be the best pilot she could be, to uphold her position on the team.

"You say you know, but do you really?" he asked. He reached out and touched her hand, and she looked at him, seeing the concern in his eyes. Her heart fluttered, and she inwardly chided herself. Keith was concerned about everyone on the team. "Hunk said there was nothing you could've done differently. None of us could've."

"Maybe, maybe not," she said. She glanced up at the cockpit. "You guys have all been flying longer. If it had been Black, or Red, you or Lance would've been able to handle it better." She spoke with certainty.

"No, we wouldn't have. Listen, mechanical failure means just that: failure. Blue's flight system crashed, and there was no way to fix it," he told her. He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. Again, there was that flutter. She took a shallow breath. "You still don't believe me. Why?" he asked.

"I don't know." She bit the inside of her cheek.

"Yeah, you do, Princess. So lay it on me," he said. There was an undertone of steel in his voice, and she sighed. She knew he wouldn't give up until he'd gotten her to talk. She both hated and admired his stubborn streak. Still, that didn't mean it was going to be easy to talk to him. "Hey." He squeezed her hand, and she looked up at him through her lashes. "It's just me, Allura. You can tell me anything," he encouraged. Again, the flutter.

"Okay." She took a deep breath. "It's just, I've got so much riding on my shoulders, you know? Arus needs someone strong to run it, and I just don't feel like I'm strong enough. But when I'm in Blue, and helping defend Arus, forming Voltron, I feel like I can do anything." She paused. He gave her hand another gentle squeeze, and heat crept into her cheeks. "But then this happened, and I was helpless to do anything. All I could do was ride her down, and hope she wasn't too messed up when we got pulled out."

"I'm really sorry about that," Keith said. His voice was low and contrite. "Black and I were just too far away to get to you."

"It wasn't your fault, Keith. I know you would've caught us if you'd been able," she said softly. She patted the giant lion's paw. "She means so much to me, you know? They all do. They mean all the universe to Arus. They're the reason that we're free now." There was reverence in her voice. She looked at him. "It's all because you five came to Arus that we have the lions. I don't know what we'd do without you guys." Her voice caught a little in her throat as she thought of what she wanted desperately to tell him next. Deciding that since she was already sharing her heart, she added in a whisper, "I don't know what I'd do without _you_."

She saw surprise flit through his eyes, followed by a slow flame that heated them to warm dark chocolate. He brought his other hand up to her face, and gently traced a finger down her delicate jawline. "I'm not sure what I'd do without _you_, either," he said. His voice was low and rough with emotion, making it sound husky and dark.

Her heart beat what seemed a hundred times faster, and she leaned toward him, offering him what she'd been longing to give him since they'd met. He framed her face in both of his hands and tilted her head back a little before pressing his lips to hers. She gave a tiny little sigh, and Keith slanted his mouth more over hers, asking her to let him in. When she did, it seemed like an explosion went off all throughout her body, and she moaned in response. Keith's mouth was firm and warm and she wanted more of it, of him. When he drew back a few moments later, she had to fight to keep from wimpering with loss. He kissed her cheek, then her forehead.

"Wow," he said. "That was amazing." He was watching her intently.

"It sure was," she whispered, smiling. He immediately smiled back. She bit her lip and asked, "But where does it leave us now?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "Wherever we want it to, I guess." When she didn't say anything, he said, "Where do you want it to leave us?"

She took hold of his right hand in both of hers and turned his palm over to trace its lines. "I want to be with you. I've wanted that from day one. But you know how Coran and Eleanor will react." She sighed, feeling the euphoria of his kiss draining away. "I don't want to put you through that."

He frowned. "That's not your decision to make. I want to be with you, too. I'm not scared of Coran or your governess."

She flashed a quick smile at him. "I know you aren't. And I'm not either. I just know they're going to throw an absolute fit, and it might be a long battle before they realize how serious I am about you."

"Then we'll go into battle together." His voice was firm and a little commanding. "You mean the universe to me, Allura. I'm not going to give you up just because they want me to." He paused and bent his head to hers, brushing her mouth lightly with his. Another thrill ran through her stomach. "I'm kind of like Blue is right now," he told her, leaning back so he could look directly into her eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Blue fell because her flight system failed, because it's broken. I'm broken, too. Or, at least, I was up until a few minutes ago." He smiled gently and reached to touch her cheek. "You see, my love, I've never allowed my heart to feel anything for you. I never examined what I felt, because I think I knew, on some deeper level, that if I did, I'd have to concede that I was in love with you. And that wasn't something I felt could happen, because you are Arus's ruler, and I'm just a commoner. A nobody." When Allura opened her mouth, he put a gentle finger on her lips and shook his head. "Just hear me out. Because I felt that way, I tried to be distant with you. I even tried ignoring you, but that never worked. I wanted to be with you too much, even if we could never be together." He rapped Blue's paw with his knuckle. "Blue will get fixed. Hunk and Pidge are almost certain they know what's wrong and how to repair her. And I know what I need to fix my system, too." He cupped her face in his hands and looked deeply into her eyes. "I need you."

Allura's eyes filled with tears at his soft, heart-spoken words. She'd longed for Keith to talk to her like this, had dreamed about it several times over, and couldn't believe it was finally happening. He wiped away the warm tears with his thumbs as they leaked from her eyes, and bent forward to press his mouth to her forehead, her cheeks, her jaw. When she made a tiny sound of pleasure, he wrapped one arm around her and brought his lips down on hers, warm and firm and commanding. She immediately gave him access and he plunged her into a kiss so deep she felt like she was drowning in it. Her arms wound around him, holding him tightly to her. He gently laid her down on Blue's paw, taking care to cup her head in his hand so she didn't bump it. She kissed him until there wasn't any more air in her lungs, and felt him ease off, allowing her to gulp in a breath before reaching for him again. He chuckled low in his throat and eased her back up to a sitting position despite her murmured protests.

"This isn't the right place for this," he whispered to her. "Anyone could catch us."

"I don't care," she said, a petulant tone creeping into her voice. He grinned at her and kissed her forehead.

"Don't worry, I want to keep kissing you, too, love. But not here. Come on." He got to his feet in a lithe move that spoke of endless atheleticism and offered her his hand. She took it and let him hoist her petite frame up. He walked to the edge of the massive paw and jumped down, then turned and motioned to her. "Come on, sweetheart. I'll catch you."

She nodded and jumped, knowing he wouldn't let her fall. His arms were warm and solid and impossibly strong around her, and she impulsively stood on her toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. The flash of intense heat in his eyes was immensely rewarding - she loved knowing she could affect him like this. She kissed him again and he made a low noise in his throat that sounded suspiciously like a growl.

"We need to get out of sight," he told her, taking her hand. She giggled and allowed him to lead her toward the side door. As they walked, she glanced back over her shoulder at Blue, and suddenly stumbled to a stop, her blue eyes widening. "Allura? What is it?" Keith asked, immediate concern in his voice.

She stared at Blue, not knowing if what she'd seen had been real. She gave herself a mental shake. Keith touched her shoulder, and she whispered, "I think Blue winked at me."

"Really?" Keith looked over at the big lion and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, they are part-magic, right? Is it possible for her to do that?"

Allura smiled and looked up at him. "I think she was letting me know that she won't be broken for long."

He smiled back at her and opened his arms. She went into them willingly, snuggling in against his hard chest, loving the feel of his arms as they wrapped around her. This was where she belonged. He dropped his head on top of hers and whispered, "I'm not broken anymore, either." She lifted her face to his, and melted into his sweet kisses. She had the distinct feeling that he'd never be broken again.


End file.
